| Popis: |
The assertion of this dissertation is that teachers engage in conversation as a way to construct and reconstruct knowledge in their teaching of reading. In this study I investigate this claim by exploring the experiences of eight elementary/middle school teachers enrolled in my online reading course. Narrative, which is the telling of stories, is the form of inquiry that I use in this dissertation. It is a methodology where the data set consists of stories which are constructed by the participants and the researcher. In this case, stories are created from online discussion threads where teachers engaged in ongoing conversation about reading. In analysing these discussions I attend to two overriding questions posed to participants prior to each discussion: 1) what connections does the reading bring forward with my experiences as a reader or as a teacher of reading? and 2) what new wonders, insights, and possibilities does the reading raise for me as I consider it in relation to my understanding of the reading process? These two components-the stories of teachers' experiences in the teaching of reading, and the analysis of these stories-form a large part ofthe study. Along with narrative inquiry into teachers' stories of practice in reading, I consider a further question: How might the analysis of what is uncovered through this study serve to inform novice teachers as they enter into the teaching profession? I examine teacher knowledge and the role of dialogue to enhance such knowledge in order to contribute to the development of teachers beginning their career. |
